Future Of Madrid: More Parks, Less Cars

By News Editor, Jan 27, 2016

According to reports published in El Pais Madrid is set to take on a total transformation with city parks being restored and expanded and the addition of over 20 urban gardens. Any vacant land is set to be utilized in order to create community gardens and the banks of the Manzanares River thickly planted potentially doubling the size of a linear park which began in 2003.

Provided that the current plans come to fruition, Madrid will be far more habitable and offer a much better quality of life, as currently the city is drying up. Being located on a high plateau the city does not benefit from the moderating temperatures of the sea which leaves a somewhat extreme climate. The winter months are crisp and the summer producing heat that can become dangerous.

The study that the new plans are based upon estimate a drop of 25% total rainfall with the rain that does arrive resulting in summer storms coupled with flash floods and rising temperatures. Provided the plans are carried out fully they will make a huge difference and offer numerous benefits as well as reducing temperatures.

The city government is also planning other improvements to the environment announcing their intentions to ban certain cars. Expansions will be made on a plan which already restricts car access and all diesel vehicles will be forbidden in inner Madrid by 2020.

Whilst the plans may seem grand they are the only way to respond to a serious need. The city has taken short term measures with car bans to ease pollution but this is not enough. The new plans prove that Madrid fully comprehends the dramatic impact that the heating and drying process is having on their citizens and that they have their health at the forefront of their thinking.